China increases demand for natural gas imports from Central Asia

Faced with growing economic development, China is facing increasingly severe and huge environmental challenges, and one of the major strategies China is currently adopting is to reduce its dependence on coal and switch to alternative energy sources, such as natural gas.

Therefore, at the energy conference held in Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, China launched a highly anticipated natural gas import program. According to the latest plan, the Chinese government plans to increase natural gas imports from Turkmenistan in 2020, and gradually increase natural gas imports from Turkmenistan. It plans to achieve an annual import volume of 65 billion cubic meters; at the same time, it will build a fourth "China-China" in 2016. "Asia" natural gas pipeline network is expected to effectively increase the natural gas transmission volume to 85 billion cubic meters per year.

According to reports, China has included the increase in natural gas import demand in the "New Silk Road" plan. It plans to adopt cash and loan models to import natural gas from Turkmenistan. Turkmenistan, as the fourth largest natural gas reserve country in the world, is a key link for China to solve energy security problems and bottlenecks in energy infrastructure construction.

The general manager of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) said that since December 2009, most of the natural gas sent from Central Asia to China came from Turkmenistan, and the total delivery to China reached 100 billion cubic meters.

The United States feels jealous of China’s actions, and sourly says that the United States has always pursued similar policies to promote economic cooperation and economic development connecting Central and South Asia. Daniel Rosenblum, deputy assistant secretary of state for Central Asian affairs of the US State Department, said that we will make adjustments in some policy directions, that is, improving customs and border procedures, coordinating national policies, etc., and not investing as much as China.

According to statistics, the Chinese government has invested a lot of money in the energy sector of Turkmenistan in recent years to develop the energy economy. In this regard, many energy security experts have warned that Turkmenistan’s over-reliance on China will affect the energy security of the region, and the most serious consequence will be the impact of global weather and heat price negotiations.

Currently, the Turkmenistan government is trying to diversify its energy supply line to reduce its dependence on China and mainly promotes two major projects. One is China's "China-Central Asia" fourth pipeline network, and the other is the TAPI pipeline project supported by the US government, which will transport Turkmenistan natural gas to Pakistan and India through Afghanistan. Turkmenistan recently announced that the construction of the TAPI project will start next year.